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Biomedical subjects

John Williams

Publications and source records attributed to John Williams.

60 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed2002

Risperidone decreases craving and relapses in individuals with schizophrenia and cocaine dependence.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the efficacy of atypical neuroleptics for decreasing craving and drug relapses during protracted withdrawal in individuals dually diagnosed with schizophrenia and cocaine dependence. METHOD: We conducted a 6-week, open-label pilot study comparing risperidone with typical neuroleptics in a sample of withdrawn cocaine-dependent schizophrenia patients. RESULTS: Preliminary results suggest that individuals treated with risperidone had significantly less cue-elicited craving and substance abuse relapses at study completion. Further, they showed a trend toward a greater reduction in negative and global symptoms of schizophrenia. CONCLUSION: Atypical neuroleptics may help reduce craving and relapses in this population. Future research should include more rigorous double-blind placebo-controlled studies with this class of medications.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Primary standardization of assays for anticonvulsant drugs: comparison of accuracy and precision.

BACKGROUND: The accuracy and precision of methods for the measurement of the anticonvulsants phenytoin, phenobarbital, primidone, carbamazepine, ethosuximide, and valproate in human serum were assessed in 297 laboratories that were participants in the United Kingdom National External Quality Assessment Scheme (UKNEQAS). METHODS: We distributed lyophilized, serum-based materials containing low, medium, and high weighed-in concentrations of the drugs. The 297 participating laboratories received the materials on two occasions, 7 months apart. Expected concentrations were determined by gas chromatography or HPLC methods in five laboratories using serum-based NIST reference materials as calibrators. RESULTS: In general, bias was consistent across concentrations for a method but often differed in magnitude for different drugs. Bias ranged from -1.9% to 8.6% for phenytoin, -2.7% to 3.1% for phenobarbital, -2.7% to 0.5% for primidone, -8.6% to 0.3% for carbamazepine, -5.6% to 2.0% for ethosuximide, and -7.2% to 0.1% for valproate. Intralaboratory sources of imprecision significantly exceeded interlaboratory sources for many drug/method combinations. The mean CVs for intra- and interlaboratory errors for the different drugs were 6.3-7.8% and 3.3-4.2%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: For these long-established and relatively high-concentration analytes, the closed analytical platforms generally performed no better than open systems or chromatography, where use of calibrators prepared in house predominated. To improve the accuracy of measurements, work is required principally by the manufacturers of immunoassays to ensure minimal calibration error and to eliminate batch-to-batch variability of reagents. Individual laboratories should concentrate on minimizing dispensing errors.

Anticonvulsants↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Haplotype diversity of the myostatin gene among beef cattle breeds.

A total of 678 individuals from 28 European bovine breeds were both phenotyped and analysed at the myostatin locus by the Single Strand Conformation Polymorphism (SSCP) method. Seven new mutations were identified which contribute to the high polymorphism (1 SNP every 100 bp) present in this small gene; twenty haplotypes were described and a genotyping method was set up using the Oligonucleotide Ligation Assay (OLA) method. Some haplotypes appeared to be exclusive to a particular breed; this was the case for 5 in the Charolaise (involving mutation Q204X) and 7 in the Maine-Anjou (involving mutation E226X). The relationships between the different haplotypes were studied, thus allowing to test the earlier hypothesis on the origin of muscular hypertrophy in Europe: muscular hypertrophy (namely nt821(del11)) was mainly spread in different waves from northern Europe milk purpose populations in most breeds; however, other mutations (mostly disruptive) arose in a single breed, were highly selected and have since scarcely evolved to other populations.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Standards in medical record keeping.

Medical records serve many functions but their primary purpose is to support patient care. The RCP Health Informatics Unit (HIU) has found variability in the quality of records and discharge summaries in England and Wales. There is currently a major drive to computerise medical records across the NHS, but without improvement in the quality of paper records the full benefits of computerisation are unlikely to be realised. The onus for improving records lies with individual health professionals. Structuring the record can bring direct benefits to patients by improving patient outcomes and doctors' performance. The HIU has reviewed the literature and is developing evidence-based standards for record keeping including the structure of the record. The first draft of these standards has been released for consultation purposes. This article is the first of a series that will describe the standards, and the evidence behind them.

Forms and Records Control↗